The business behind the show

Ratings report: 'Glee' starting to really sing for Fox

October 1, 2009 | 9:49
am

Fox's quirky "Glee" hit a record high in viewers this season on Wednesday and powered the network to a strong night. The comedy/drama/musical (I'm waiting for someone to invent one word that fits) drew 7.32 million viewers and won the 9-10 p.m. hour in adults 18-34. Fox tied for first on the night with CBS in adults 18-49.

For the night, CBS was first in viewers with 11.2 million, followed by ABC with 8.2 million, NBC with 7.1 million and Fox with 7.0 million, according to Nielsen.

That "Glee," which is in its fourth week, is growing its overall audience bodes well. Fox already picked up a whole season of the show, which was the network's big gamble this fall. It took the risky chance of premiering the show last spring after "American Idol" and then promoting the heck out of it all summer long. Its lead-in, "So You Think You Can Dance," also performed well and won the 8-9 p.m. hour in adults 18-49 with a 2.7 rating. To figure out what that 2.7 means, each rating point in the 18-49 demographic equals about 1.3 million people. And if you are really curious, there are about 131.6 million adults in 'the 18-49 demographic. Sorry you asked?

ABC launched the first hour of its Wednesday comedy block last night. "Hank," which stars Kelsey Grammer, attracted about 8.5 million viewers, which was good enough for first place, while "The Middle," starring Patricia Heaton, landed 8.6 million viewers and was also on top. Both shows were second in adults 18-49, however. In the 9-10 p.m. hour, "Modern Family" and "Cougar Town" were off from their premiere numbers of a week ago. "Modern Family" fell 22% to 9.9 million viewers from 12.7 million a week ago. "Cougar Town" was off 21.5% to 9.1 million from 11.6 million. Such a dip was to be expected since last week it had "Dancing with the Stars" as a lead-in. But "Modern Family" finished first in 18-49 with a 3.6 rating, while "Cougar Town" was second with a 3.6 rating.

CBS' "Criminal Minds" continues to deliver, bringing in 13.6 million viewers and a 3.6 rating in the 18-49 category.